I'm surprised anyone is this high on Doughty. He never stuck out at me as someone that has to go in the MLD. I personally thought his last season was pretty ordinary.

But he had 40 points! You love points!

seriously though, in "the year of the offensive specialist", Doughty was great. He asserted himself well with 40 points and his =13 was exceeded by only six defensemen who had more points than him.

More importantly though, he was a workhorse that was relied on by a good team, in all situations. He was 5th in the league in icetime per game. Last season definitely added to his resume. Not just anyone ends up top-5 in icetime. Your definition of "ordinary" is extraordinary.

Of course, this is a guy who was already a 1st all-star team member, and he deserved it. He was also one of Canada's two best defenseman in the Olympics. Imagine a guy in the 1950s had a 3-year career but made the 1st all-star team in one of them. He'd absolutely be picked by now. No question about it.

He's not a "massive steal" but he'd be a steal right now, and I think would be an appropriate pick wherever the bidding causes him to get slotted.

I don't like picking guys that I've taken and profiled before, but I just can't help myself because I think this guy is extremely underrated. I took him last AAA and it was very well received. TDMM even said he was a MLD2010 bottom pairing defenseman, and I figure if he's on my bottom pairing in the MLD2011, he's a great pick, D Kim Johnsson

Defenceman Keith Brown was a steady two-way performer for 16 NHL seasons. He was equally proficient at looking after matters in his own zone and contributing on offence.

Brown was a solid player in all phases of the game and a die-hard competitor. He reached double figures in goals twice and helped Chicago reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1992 and the semi-finals in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1989. His tenacious effort on the ice took its toll on Brown's body as he missed considerable time as a result of injuries in seven of his 14 years in the Windy City.

Late in his career Brown was shipped to the expansion Florida Panthers to add stability and defence to the young squad. He was a solid +11 in 51 games the first years the retired in 1995 after seeing action in only 13 contests.

The most productive result from the much-anticipated Eric Lindros trade was the development and commendable play of Kim Johnsson. Acquired with two other players for Lindros in 2001, Johnsson wasted no time in becoming one of the best defensemen on the team. He won the Barry Ashbee trophy in 2001-02 and led Flyer blueliners in scoring during each of his first two seasons in Philadelphia. Playing in every game, Johnsson's dependability and production improved his credentials as he established himself as an NHL veteran. The Flyers have been one of the best defensive teams in hockey for years, and no opponent allowed fewer goals during the 2003-03 season. Kim Johnsson significantly shares in the credit for these accomplishments.

I have nothing against Brown or anything, it just really caught me off guard seeing someone say this about their player!

What do you think of Brown? I took a quick look at his goals on ice totals and they looked good, so I assumed he was a consistent #2/#3 guy always behind Doug Wilson, but I underestimated how much Wilson and Bob Murray were on the ice for the Blackhawks.

I have no doubt that Red is better. I picked him before his brother for a reason.

There is always doubt, especially with players from the early eras.

Red appears to be better offensively, and it's tough to say who was better in other aspects, though the fact that Shorty was captain indicates he brought something extra. I think we both need to do some research before we can make the claim that either one is definitively better.

I haven't been able to find much on Shorty asside from him being a leader, which was brought up a lot.

What do you think of Brown? I took a quick look at his goals on ice totals and they looked good, so I assumed he was a consistent #2/#3 guy always behind Doug Wilson, but I underestimated how much Wilson and Bob Murray were on the ice for the Blackhawks.

He actually averaged 20.6 minutes a game for his 876-game, 16-year career, that's not that bad. You're right that he's "meh" though. There's really not much to say about the guy!

Red appears to be better offensively, and it's tough to say who was better in other aspects, though the fact that Shorty was captain indicates he brought something extra. I think we both need to do some research before we can make the claim that either one is definitively better.

I'd say Red is unquestionably better offensively, and not by a small degree. Whatever else Wilf brings to the table, it needs to be big to overcome that gap. Leadership only provides so many goals.

Despite still having two years of junior eligibility remaining, he signed as an under-age junior with the WHA Toronto Toro's May 1975. Napier was an instant hit in the WHA, recording 93 points, and was the only rookie to finish among the league's top 50 scorers. He also was voted as the WHA rookie of the year. In his sophomore season Mark exploded for 60 goals, one of only 8 players to do so in WHA history.

Napier was a spectacular skater, blessed with tremendous speed and acceleration. He also had good balance, skating with his legs wide apart forming a low center of gravity. He maintained his fine speed until he was well past 30. Mark thrived on fast-breaks, transition offense and two-on-one situations.

Right-winger Mark Napier was blessed with blinding speed and a natural scoring ability. He accounted for 235 career goals with four different NHL clubs, won two Stanley Cups then excelled in Europe for four seasons.

In the post-season he played 12 games while helping Montreal win its fourth consecutive Stanley Cup. As the Canadiens' retooled in the early 1980s, Napier became a more prominent contributor to the team's offense. He scored 35 goals in 1980-81 followed by consecutive 40-goal performances. In 1982 he scored three goals for Canada when they won bronze at the World Championships.

Halfway through the 1984-85 season Minnesota began reconfiguring its roster and sent Napier to the Edmonton Oilers. The fast-paced game of the defending Stanley Cup champions suited the veteran winger. Napier scored 35 points in 33 games. In the playoffs he chipped in with ten points as Edmonton repeated as Cup titleists.

and

LW Dan Maloney

If there was ever a player who molded his career on a strong work ethic and tenacity, it was Dan Maloney, who always gave the proverbial 110 per cent.

At the age of 17, lanky Dan Maloney played Junior B hockey with the Markham Waxers, where he was one of the team's best two-way players, and always showed an interest in the fisticuffs if need be. At 18, he moved on to major junior, suiting up for the London Knights in 1968-69. The following year Maloney received much more ice time and was gaining lots of attention from NHL scouts, who liked his ability to generate offense while at the same time showing a willingness to take care of the tough stuff, as evidenced by his 232 minutes in the penalty box.

This Irishman may have been quiet and soft-spoken off the ice but on the ice he was anything but. Dan Maloney was a charismatic leader who always stuck up for his teammates. As a result he was he was always popular in the dressing room wherever he played.

Dan quickly established himself as one of the leagues premier pugilists. He won some memorable fights as a rookie, but he also contributed offensively. Over the years Dan fought the toughest players and won many of his fights, even though a serious shoulder injury slowed him down a bit in later years. He was never afraid to drop 'em. His fearless attitude was his greatest ally in the NHL trenches.

Dan's stint in LA lasted little over two years. He had a career high 66 points (27goals and 39 assists) in 1974-75. Bob Pulford, the coach behind the Kings bench, considered Dan to be one of his key players. "Losing Maloney was a big blow to what we were trying to accomplish in LA. He was our leader, a much respected player," Pulford said.

In his first season with the Red Wings Dan equaled his career high 66 points In Detroit he quickly became GM Ted Lindsay's favorite player and became the team captain. Lindsay, who himself was one of the toughest players of his era, appreciated Dan's similar style of play.

Leafs GM Jim Gregory said. " A big need on our team was a tough, aggressive left winger and no one filled the bill better than Maloney."

Don cherry was quoted after the trade to Toronto, "At the time the trade was made, I said that it was a good one for the Leafs. They picked up a good, tough, experienced winger who fitted right in with what the team was trying to do."

His strength wasn't only his right and left fists but also his overall work ethic and leadership qualities. Dan was a really good cornerman and stood his ground around the enemy net.

I have so much respect for Dan Maloney. This is a guy who scored 451 points in the NHL; yet, at times he was known as the best hitter and the best fighter in the NHL. He was spoken of so highly by his teammates and was a great guy to have in the dressing room.

0.45 adjusted ESPPG - that's pretty damn good! Remember that Libett, for example, had 0.40. Granted, Maloney did spend a few years as the tough guy on a few scoring lines, which had to help his scoring totals, but then so did a lot of players over the years and not many of them got even close to 450 career points.

Don't need a goalie, don't need a coach, scoring lines are filled, and I have 6 D-men. It's pretty easy to pick under those circumstances.

I'll take a VI favourite, Billy "Hinky" Harris, C, who was a great defensive center for the Leafs in their transitional period between dynasties, before contributing to three Stanley Cups. Harris bounced around for three years before catching on after expansion with oakland and then Pittsburgh.

He was actually 18th in points once - 1959, and just 55 of his 345 NHL points were scored on the PP. With five straight seasons of 32+ ESP from 1958-1961 he ranked 12th, 17th, 26th, and 27th in ESP.

I'd say Red is unquestionably better offensively, and not by a small degree. Whatever else Wilf brings to the table, it needs to be big to overcome that gap. Leadership only provides so many goals.

I'd have to look at their non-NHL careers before making a difinitive call. It does appear that Red was better offensively, but I also read that Shorty played all forward positions and defense. If I can get some more evidence that he in fact did play defense, and also find out how much he did that, we might see a different story.

I have said that there may be outside factors that contributed to Shorty's HHOF induction, but we don't really know if that played a factor. Maybe Shorty was just better than Red...

As I already said, it does appear that Red was better, but that is based on such limited information that we can't be sure. Once we've done some more digging, we'll be able to, hopefully, make a more difinitive call.

There are a lot of excellent right wingers in this draft. Therefore, I need a shutdown left winger that is tough to play against and can frustrate my opponents. This was an easy pick for me cause I always felt he was underrated thanks to selke voting be also based on offense back in the day.

The Belleville Bulls will take a gritty winger who was fantastic in his own end.